Sens. Tim Kaine, D-Va., and Angus King, I-Maine, explained at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing Tuesday that President Obama currently lacks the authority to wage war against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, the terrorist group that has rampaged across much of the Middle East.

The two senators did not criticize the president by name, but they made it clear in their statements that they believe the White House is overstepping its authority. The two senators also refrained from peppering the hearing’s two witnesses, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey or Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, with tough questions about the White House’s position on combating the Islamic State.

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